January 13, 2011

ARTstor is sharing a new themed collection of approximately 300 images based on the Biblical story of Judith and Holofernes across many periods and a wide range of media, including the unprecedented publication of narrative sequences in stained glass, relief sculpture and book illustrations. Sponsored by a grant from the Jessica E. Smith and Kevin R. Brine Charitable Trust, the collection complements the approximately 330 existing images in various other collections in the Digital Library that depict figures and events from the Old Testament's Book of Judith. According to the Book of Judith, the widow Judith saved the besieged city of Bethulia by decapitating the enemy general Holofernes, thereby enabling her Israelite countrymen to defeat the invading Assyrians. The powerful appeal to the visual imagination of the Judith narrative has inspired and challenged Western scribes, illustrators, draftsman, painters, and sculptors for two millennia.

To view the Judith and Holofernes (Jessica E. Smith and Kevin R. Brine Charitable Trust) collection; go to the ARTstor Digital Library, browse by collection, and click "Judith and Holofernes (Jessica E. Smith and Kevin R. Brine Charitable Trust)"; or, if you are at your institution or have an ARTstor account, simply follow this link: http://library.artstor.org/library/collection/judith.